The invention relates to a modular arrangement in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
Modular arrangements of the type at issue are comprised of one or more base modules that each have a connection module on each of two different sides, as well as one or more functional modules with at least one connection module. The base modules and the functional modules generally form electronics modules that have specified functionalities. These electronics modules can be connected via connection modules, which are designed in the form of plugs and sockets, for instance, that are combined to form a functional unit.
Modular arrangements of this type can, as an example, constitute safety systems, in particular locking safety systems. One system of this type is the MGB safety system of the company Euchner, for example. This safety system ensures that movable, separating protective equipment is reliably kept closed, in particular protective doors, and that access is consequently secure to fenced-in, hazardous areas that are critical for safety.
This locking safety system is comprised of a locking module that is arranged on a handle module. These modules serve to reliably keep the protective door closed. The door handle of the handle module can be held in the closed position via spring force and unlocked via magnetic force. Alternatively, the door handle can be held in the closed position via magnetic force and unlocked via spring force.
The locking safety system has, moreover, a control module and a bus module in the form of functional modules that can be connected to the locking module. The control module has a control unit with several buttons and knobs. The bus module serves to connect the locking safety system to an external bus system.
The individual modules are connected via connection modules such as plugs and sockets; flat-ribbon cables that go into the individual modules run out of the connection modules.
A major drawback of this locking safety system is that the entire locking safety system has to be sent back to the manufacturer for repair purposes when a defect arises in a module.
Another drawback of the locking safety system is that the construction expenses for an adaptation to different configurations are undesirably high. Different configurations especially arise via different arrangements of the protective door relative to the locking safety system. An arrangement of a handle module has to be provided on the right-hand side or on the left-hand side of the locking module depending on the arrangement of the protective door. To cover these configurations, different variants of the locking module have to be provided that have the different designs for an attachment of the handle module on the right-hand side or on the left-hand side.